{"id":7865,"date":"2025-02-01T00:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T00:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/?p=7865"},"modified":"2025-02-01T00:35:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T00:35:02","slug":"a-renowned-pilot-speaks-out-on-deadly-collision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/a-renowned-pilot-speaks-out-on-deadly-collision\/","title":{"rendered":"A Renowned Pilot Speaks Out on Deadly Collision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I nearly dropped my phone when I saw the headline:&nbsp;<strong>Hero pilot Captain Sully shares terrifying theory on why DC plane crash happened. If there\u2019s anyone whose opinion I trust about aviation disasters, it\u2019s Chesley \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger\u2014the man who famously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River back in 2009 and saved 155 lives. This time around, Sully\u2019s concerns center on nighttime flights over water, which he suspects might have played a tragic role in the recent collision near Washington, D.C.\n\n\n\n<h4 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'><strong>Night Flight Complications\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/boreddaddy.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/charles-sullenberger-the-captain-behind-the-hudson-river-miracle-1024x578.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:470x265%5C/rscb2%5C/ng:webp%5C/ngcb2%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-71289\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Sully, the crash that took 67 lives might have stemmed partly from poor visibility when flying over a dark body of water. He noted that fewer ground lights reflecting off water at night can make spotting other aircraft much tougher. As he explained, \u201cAll you can see are the lights on them,\u201d which makes determining relative altitude and distance incredibly challenging. Some might question whether an air traffic controller should have stepped in\u2014but as Sully points out, if the pilots see each other and confirm visual contact, the controller can briefly hand over separation duties to them. Sadly, something went horribly wrong.\n\n\n\n</p><p><a rel='\"noreferrer' noopener href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.humix.com%5C/video%5C/68e7d7e2d14e36548f72c9363c3cd82d9ae69a9a%5C%22" target='\"_blank\"'>\n\n\n\n<h4 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'><strong>Hero Pilot Captain Sully Shares Terrifying Theory on Why DC Plane Crash Happened\n\n\n\n<p>Sully also spoke on Good Morning America, where he reiterated that at least one pilot had visual contact but still lost the required distance for a safe flight path. When those last lines of defense fail, it\u2019s reminiscent of \u201cdominoes lined up the wrong way,\u201d to use Sully\u2019s words. With nighttime flights, any small lapse can become catastrophic. The fact that\u00a0<strong>Hero pilot Captain Sully shares terrifying theory on why DC plane crash happened\u00a0should make every airline and pilot re-examine their protocols\u2014especially around busy airports like Reagan National, known for short runways and nearby air traffic.<a href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/go.ezodn.com%5C/ads%5C/charity%5C/proxy?p_id=46929239-b305-4d7c-7cff-3a62442df728&amp;d_id=79196&amp;imp_id=8170349115566131&amp;c_id=1084&amp;l_id=10016&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazonconservation.org%2Ftake-action%2Fdonate%2F&amp;ffid=1&amp;co=XK%5C%22">\n\n\n\n<h4 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'><strong>Runway Pressures and Staffing Challenges\n\n\n\n<p>One area of concern emerging from the incident is staffing in the control tower at Reagan National Airport. Some reports mention that the controller responsible for guiding helicopters near DCA was also handling departures and arrivals. Sully noted that because DC\u2019s airport is so close to other airfields\u2014and has such short runways\u2014pilots need specialized training to operate there safely. Pair these complexities with chronic understaffing, and it\u2019s easy to see how the scenario for a midair collision could develop.\n\n\n\n</p><h4 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'><strong>Hero Pilot Captain Sully Shares Terrifying Theory on Why DC Plane Crash Happened\u2026 and Why It Must Be Addressed\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/boreddaddy.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/capt.-sullenberger-1024x683.jpeg?ezimgfmt=rs:470x313%5C/rscb2%5C/ng:webp%5C/ngcb2%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-71288\"\/'><figcaption class='\"wp-element-caption\"'>For the first time since crash-landing in the Hudson River, Capt. Chesley \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger returns to the cockpit of US Airways jet flight 1549 at the Carolinas Aviation Museum Friday, November 18, 2011. Todd Sumlin \u2013&nbsp;tsumlin@charlotteobserver.com\n\n\n\n<p>Investigators have recovered the black boxes from the submerged wreckage in the Potomac River\u2014offering a glimmer of hope that the final minutes before the crash can be pieced together. A preliminary report already suggests the tower was stretched thin, with the same person talking to both helicopter and plane pilots. Sully\u2019s warning underscores that nighttime flight, water reflections, and possible staffing shortages might have aligned to create the perfect storm. Whenever I recall that\u00a0<strong>Hero pilot Captain Sully shares terrifying theory on why DC plane crash happened, I can\u2019t help but think: if even he\u2019s rattled by these conditions, we should all be paying attention.<a href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/go.ezodn.com%5C/ads%5C/charity%5C/proxy?p_id=46929239-b305-4d7c-7cff-3a62442df728&amp;d_id=79196&amp;imp_id=1753053373557776&amp;c_id=1134&amp;l_id=10016&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fjoinourvillage.org%2Fdonate%2F&amp;ffid=1&amp;co=XK%5C%22">\n\n\n\n<h4 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'><strong>Lessons from the Miracle on the Hudson\n\n\n\n<p>Sully\u2019s experience is practically legend by now. When his plane lost both engines after a bird strike in 2009, he managed a safe water landing on the Hudson River, miraculously saving everyone onboard. He\u2019s since been a vocal advocate for safety reforms, pilot training, and thorough incident investigations. If the aviation world heeds his warnings about the recent D.C. crash, maybe future disasters can be prevented. But as Sully puts it, \u201cAny lapse could potentially be fatal, even though we have a lot of safety.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Please SHARE this article with your friends and family on Facebook.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Love and Peace\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><div class='\"mh-excerpt\"'><p>I nearly dropped my phone when I saw the headline:&nbsp;Hero pilot Captain Sully shares terrifying theory on why DC plane crash happened. If there\u2019s anyone <a class='\"mh-excerpt-more\"' href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/legendhorizon.com%5C/a-renowned-pilot-speaks-out-on-deadly-collision%5C/%5C%22" title='\"A' renowned pilot speaks out on deadly collision>[&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7865"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7866,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7865\/revisions\/7866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</a></p></div></strong></h4></a></strong></p></figcaption></figure></strong></h4></strong></h4></a></strong></p></strong></h4></a></p></figure></strong></h4></strong></p>